Wal Mart

The Sun is right to question the worth of Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke's legislation requiring Wal-Mart to pay a "living wage" to employees ("Another Wal-Mart bill?" May 5). However, the issue is hardly as simple as a local lawmaker being "unfair" to a giant, predatory corporation. Some of The Sun's rhetorical questions are well-aimed: indeed, why single out Wal-Mart when so many other business pay low wages? It's probably a safe bet that Ms. Clarke did not sit down and analyze the national and global economic situations before proposing her bill.

An $8.5 billion merger creating North America's biggest dollar store chain could mean increased competition for mass discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. but less choice for shoppers. In the Baltimore area and elsewhere, retail experts said, Dollar Tree Inc.'s planned purchase of Family Dollar Stores Inc., announced Monday, likely will lead to some store closings, though the companies have not identified any locations. Dollar Tree, which runs mostly suburban stores and sells a mix of consumables as well as items such as gifts, party goods and greeting cards for $1 or less, has about 55 stores in the Baltimore area.

The thrust of The Sun's editorial and the approach of public officials for decades for improving Liberty Road and other secondary roads with aging retail areas has been to treat the problems as economic development issues ("Life on Liberty Road," May 23). The solutions have been to update failing areas with new buildings without dealing with the core problems. People need to be connected to their neighborhoods. Suburban Baltimore County communities were built around the love affair with the car. They became commuting communities.

Thanks to Raven Jameel McClain, about 300 children around Baltimore will have a new, warm winter coat. The inside linebacker made a deal with Wal-Mart where in exchange for a couple off-season appearances at the store, they'd provide the gear for needy kids. This afternoon, kids from area Boys and Girls clubs will head to the Port Covington Wal-Mart to shop for their coats. They'll also be getting hats, gloves and scarves, provided by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. McClain will be at Wal-Mart from 4 to 7 p.m., meeting the kids and helping them choose jackets.

In its decision to throw out the sex discrimination lawsuit filed by 1.6 million women workers against retail giant Wal-Mart, the Supreme Court concluded that there was insufficient evidence that each of these women - who worked at different jobs and in different states - had been harmed in the same way. In other words, in order to file a class-action suit, the plaintiffs must have more in common than just their sex. And, by the way, they need...

PHILADELPHIA -- A Philadelphia jury awarded $78.5 million to current and former employees of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Pennsylvania stores yesterday to compensate them for time they worked without pay and for missed rest breaks. "Justice was served," said former employee Jacqueline Copeland, 25, of South Philadelphia, who testified that she was worked so hard at a Wal-Mart store that she couldn't take a break to use the bathroom. On Thursday, after a six-week trial, the Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court jury found that Wal-Mart failed to pay employees for their rest breaks as promised.

You know that any store with soda vending machines out front -- serving its own brand of sodas-- is a heavy hitter.With its Sam's Choice beverages, smiley greeters and aggressive pricing, Wal-Mart lumbered into the Baltimore market last week. Its new Glen Burnie store will be followed by others in Elkton, Westminster, Aberdeen and possibly White Marsh, western Anne Arundel and Howard counties (although Howard recently rejected a proposed site in Ellicott City as incompatible with zoning).

On May 21, 2003, Wal-Mart transferred ownership of its Ellicott City store to a Delaware-registered affiliate. No money changed hands, legal records show. Why would the giant retailer go to the trouble of pushing paper in the Howard County courthouse simply to move property from one company to another under the same corporate umbrella? Pull up a chair and hear the latest tale of tax loopholes, reduced state revenue and really smart lawyers. As it wrestles with approaching deficits, Maryland may be losing millions in taxes because Wal-Mart and probably other companies have stashed deeds to local real estate in out-of-state affiliates.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will buy back as much as $15 billion of shares and reduce the number of new stores as Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott responds to investor demands to boost returns. The plan to repurchase as much as 7.4 percent of its stock sent shares to their biggest gain in 19 months. Wal-Mart also said yesterday that it will open no more than 200 supercenters this year, a reduction from the 270 it previously planned to create. "Wal-Mart has taken a major step in attempting to improve returns on investment," Neil Currie, an analyst with UBS Securities LLC, wrote in a research note after the company's annual shareholders' meeting.

AMONG THE LARGEST 500 companies, more than 300 - and eight of the top 10 - have had policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation. But when one more firm recently adopted such a policy, it was front-page national news. That's because when Wal-Mart speaks - for better or worse - America pays attention. World-conquering size does that. The 41-year-old firm is now the world's largest corporation and private employer, with more workers in uniform (1.3 million worldwide) than the U.S. Army.

Harford County officials may have been reluctant to talk about a Wal-Martcoming to the Emmorton area south of Bel Air when the subject first came up more than a year ago, but the developer of the site off Route 924 and Plumtree Road is moving forward with the project regardless. Legal notices were published in The Aegis last week announcing a community input meeting "for a proposedWal-Mart and other commercial uses" on 33.7 acres on the southwest side of the intersection of Route 924 and Plumtree Road.

Maryland's state retirement system said Thursday that it would once again vote against the election of Wal-Mart Stores' board because it isn't confident in the independence of the directors. The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, which owns 1.2 million shares of the retail giant, has a policy of voting against all candidates if less than two-thirds of a company's board is independent. Six of Wal-Mart's 16 board members are either company officials or affiliated with the company in another way, according to the system's proxy advisor.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Monday requested a meeting with Wal-Mart officials in response to allegations that the retailer covered up a bribery scheme to expand its business in Mexico. In a letter to Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke, the Baltimore Democrat says he is opening an investigation into allegations raised in a story over the weekend by The New York Times and asked the company to schedule a meeting with lawmakers to discuss the issue by Friday.

Salvatore Joseph Cameron, a retired mason and Air Force veteran, died Tuesday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after suffering a fall in his Eldersburg home. He was 73. Born in Hazleton, Pa., Mr. Cameron moved with his family to Baltimore's Lakeland neighborhood. He attended city public schools. He earned his General Educational Development certificate after joining the Air Force in 1955. He was a communications specialist and teletype operator until his discharge in 1963.

lperl@patuxent.com Normally, news of a community meeting in Charles Village is hardly unusual. The neighborhood is well-represented by groups ranging from the Charles Village Civic Association, which will host a forum for political candidates Aug. 30, to the Charles Village Community Benefits District, a special taxing district, which will discuss its supplemental services at a public meeting Sept. 10. But one upcoming community meeting, billed as a chance for residents to discuss everything from crime to a planned Wal-Mart, is taking community leaders by surprise, not for its topics, but for its unlikely sponsor, the owner of a local yoga studio called The Living Well.

In its decision to throw out the sex discrimination lawsuit filed by 1.6 million women workers against retail giant Wal-Mart, the Supreme Court concluded that there was insufficient evidence that each of these women - who worked at different jobs and in different states - had been harmed in the same way. In other words, in order to file a class-action suit, the plaintiffs must have more in common than just their sex. And, by the way, they need...

A Wal-Mart in Catonsville closed yesterday evening after pepper spray was discharged in the store. Eight customers were treated at the scene for skin and eye irritation.Baltimore County police and fire personnel were called to the store at 6205 Baltimore National Pike about 6: 15 p.m. None of the injured customers sought further medical treatment, police said.Police have no suspects in the incident. The store was expected to reopen today, police said.

NEW YORK -- A federal judge in New Jersey dismissed civil-racketeering claims against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. yesterday, narrowing the scope of a lawsuit that accused the world's largest retailer of knowingly employing illegal immigrants to clean its stores. U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr., in Newark, ruled the immigrant janitors who sued failed to adequately support the claims. The janitors said Wal-Mart kept labor costs down by using illegal immigrants, forced them into involuntary servitude and conspired with contractors to launder money.

I immigrated to the United States more than 50 years ago. I served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. I pay taxes, and I love this country. It saddens me that there are so many people without a job; although I am not an economist, I would like to say something about the economy as an ordinary citizen. Corporate America is making record profits; they have transferred their business to China, India, Brazil and other developing countries where profits are higher since workers in those places have lower salaries than our workers here.